A Danger to Herself and Others – Review

Title: A Danger to Herself and Others
Author: Alyssa Sheinmel
Genre: Contemporary
Category: Young Adult
Ratings: ♥♥♥♥

This was a JOURNEY! I was so enthralled in this story. Hannah is such an unreliable narrator—I never knew what to believe. What was real life? Was she lying and manipulative, especially with her friendships? Or was she actually sincere? I read this in mostly one sitting because I had to keep peeling back Hannah’s psyche to get to her true self. I wish the author would have actually said her diagnosis out loud. It’s always mentioned as Hannah’s “disorder”, or her “disease”. I think it would benefit readers to put a name to her disease, making her experience feel more real. The authors note is really important, so important that I think it may be more useful at the beginning of the book.

My biggest issues: I felt like the author overly explained parts of the institute. I realize that it’s a way to ground the reader but it got a little much. For example, overtly explaining that there were no knives in the cafeteria so no one gets hurt. I feel like the reader can infer that on their own. Also, the repetition of the title is a little on the nose. If the usage had been separated throughout the book it would have a bigger impact.

All in all, i think this was a gripping story about a topic of mental health that is rarely explored with this much detail.

I was sent this e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.